I was at a big church in the centre of a major town. The preacher was speaking about Romans 8 and kept repeating its opening, when a someone interrupted from the back.
The text in question says (NIV):
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
From the back of the building came the demand: “Can I ask a question?” and then louder: “Can I ask a question?”, as a man started walking up the middle aisle.
He explained that he had been afflicted by drug problems and was anxious about whether this text could really apply to him.
By the time he had reached the front, he had burst into tears. The preacher offered him encouragement and the church prayed for him. He was introduced to a church member who had suffered from a similar problem, and the sermon carried on.
It was a beautiful moment. The start of Romans 8 is one of the most memorable parts of the Bible, because it acts as a rebuttal to the fears that people have that they might not be virtuous enough to be a Christian. But as one famous hymn puts it:
When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see him there who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.
This reminds me when the prophet Isaiah (in chapter 6 of his eponymous book) faces God seated on a throne and says:
Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.
Just think about that: someone who will become one of God’s best-known messengers in all of human history is in anguish because of his sin.
In fact, God sorts out the problem of his sin. He is forgiven through grace. And when he hears God asking who he should ask: he responds: “Here I am. Send me!”
All humans have sinned, but God uses sinners. What is our response to God’s call: is it to fret about our inadequacy or is to trust in our creator?